


Pawn to E4

by charlesworthy



Category: Fire Emblem Heroes, Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates, Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening, Fire Emblem: Soen no Kiseki/Akatsuki no Megami | Fire Emblem Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn
Genre: Chess, Gen, Non Binary Robin, Tactic boys being tactical
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-02
Updated: 2017-05-02
Packaged: 2018-10-26 21:20:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10794975
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/charlesworthy/pseuds/charlesworthy
Summary: The eccentricities of Askr have allowed Robin to meet many heroes they've already heard fantastic tales of.  Robin decides to challenge one of them to a game of chess.





	Pawn to E4

**Author's Note:**

> i'm kind of a chess nerd. don't worry about it.

“Excuse me?”

The voice wasn't one Soren knew, so he ignored it. It wasn't until a hand placed itself on his shoulder that he pivoted, glaring daggers at the offending person. His face softened once he recognized the other, but not enough to be anywhere near welcoming. He pulled his shoulder away from Robin's grasp roughly.

“Yes? I'm busy.”

This was a half truth. Soren had several things he wanted to work on, including drawing a battle plan and reassign monetary expenditure to other, more valuable sources. These things were not imperative. They could wait, because Soren knew he'd do them efficiently enough that they wouldn't take much time at all.

Robin, on the other hand, offered Soren an amiable smile that seemed a little mischievous. Soren didn't know the other tactician well enough to say whether or not that was a good or bad sign, but erring on the side of caution made him wary of it.

"How busy? I've heard you were one of the most brilliant strategists of all time," Robin said. "I'd like to test that with a game of chess."

Soren's eyes narrowed and he turned, ever slightly, ready to leave the conversation without a word. "Flattery will get you no where with me," he replied. "My work is worth a bit more than one round of chess."

"Hm." Robin seemed to consider this. They paused, just short enough to keep Soren's interest piqued, before eventually continuing. "Then how about... if you win, I divulge some of my tactical knowledge with you? If I win, you have to do the same."

"Not interested." Soren's response was immediate. "I see no value in your strategies when I can simply think of my own. And my own are just that-- not yours."

Robin seemed to have difficulty keeping that smile on their face. Soren had difficulty keeping a smug one off his at this realization. "Then how about you play me in a game of chess because I think I can best you?"

"You can't." Soren's confidence was evident enough. "There's no point."

Robin's smile turned wry. "Afraid of a little sport?"

"Ridiculous. If I must prove it to you, I will. As I said, though, I'm busy. Expect a quick loss."

"I'd look forward to it," Robin replied. They gestured to the side, indicating a nearby tent. It seemed they had already anticipated Soren's acquiescence. That, or they had just been insanely hopeful. Soren refused to entertain the idea that he was predictable enough for them to have foreseen this.

The tent inside merely had a table and a couple fold-able chairs. If Robin had really been anticipating a match with Soren, they would have set up the board and pieces on their own. They did not.

"Here," they started. They produced a small box from their coat -- a travel set. It seemed very old, and only seemed older as it creaked when they opened it. Upon setting it on the table, which dwarfed it, Soren could see the obvious use in the pieces themselves. Tarnish had faded, some pieces had broken off or had been worn down. This was either an antique set, or Robin had given it a lot of love over many years.

"Take a seat," Robin said amiably. They nodded their head to one chair, hovering over the other as they set up the small board. "Which color do you prefer?"

"You may take white," Soren replied. "I'm sure you'll need the advantage."

The Plegian just let out a short hum. "Do you prefer black?"

"No." Soren's answer was curt. After a moment, he elaborated. "I take whatever's given to me and I make it work. If you really would rather play black, be my guest."

Robin set up the board with the white pieces on their side.

"No clock?" Soren asked, once Robin settled into their chair. They had their arms folded in front of them and were already eyeing the board, obviously considering their first move.

"No, unfortunately not."

"A pity."

"Is that how you usually play?"

A small smirk curved Soren's lips. "No. I was merely curious to see how long it would take you to lose."

Robin's expression mirrored Soren's. If the wind mage was going to be a cocky little bastard, Robin would give him hell for it.

Robin wasn't completely confident in their abilities, and old stories of lore had given Soren a reputation he was weary of. The records didn't have much on Soren's battle plans aside from the outcomes of skirmishes. It seemed the mage never wrote them down, or perhaps burned them once he'd relayed them to the troops. The only thing that had been certain about Soren's tactical prowess, according to these tomes, was that he never used them for any one but Ike. Just a glimpse into his thought process would be a great boon to Robin, who still studied any book they could get their hands on. They themselves had become an accomplished strategist with time, but they knew they still had much to learn. It was clear Soren felt he did not.

Robin made his first move. King side knight out. The smile did not leave Soren's face. Already, he reached for his piece.

"Knight, then?"

Robin shrugged. "It's a more interesting start."

"If intrigue is all you strive for -- Knight, F6 -- this will be a quick match indeed."

Their eyebrows furrowed. Soren had mirrored their move. Why? Perhaps he was playing at something. Or perhaps he didn't have a better opening move to make? They moved their gaze from the board to Soren's eyes. He was regarding them coolly, confidently. It almost felt like this were more a game of poker than chess.

"A little hypocritical, hm?" Robin chided. Soren merely shrugged. They moved one of their pawns forward, clacking it down decisively.

"Pawn, G6."

Soren's counter was immediate. Naturally of course, Robin would have been disappointed had Soren taken much time to consider his opening moves. Robin themselves had used this start countless times before in games with others, and he was certain Soren had done the same as well. In chess, it was important to consider your options at least three turns in advance. If Soren were the tactical genius the stories said, he might have been thinking ten turns or further ahead.

Robin picked up their other knight. "What, no friendly conversation?" they joked, setting it down.

"Bishop, G7," Soren answered. "I see no need for it when you merely wanted a match."

"Hm..."

Robin made their next move. Another pawn forward.

Soren didn't even have to think. "King, G8. King side castle."

"A castle? That's what you were desperate for?"

The mage let out an amused hum. "Desperate is an interesting word to use for this." His index finger tapped the top of the Rook he had just misplaced. "If I were you I'd be more concerned with my own plans than that of my opponents."

"Well, if you were me, you'd not be underestimating your opponent."

Soren's tone revealed how droll he found Robin's statement. "If you were me, you'd not have challenged me to such a match in the first place. Make your move."

Robin frowned. Was Soren really going to be this insufferable the entire time? It was true that they hadn't spoken to him at all, in fact, but they expected a bit of friendly banter, perhaps a friendship arising out of this chess game, whether or not they actually lost.

They made their next move quickly. Another pawn forward. Their fingers lingered on the piece however, a little unsure.

In chess, it was a common rule that a move is not made until the player has fully committed to it -- often this is done by removing one's fingers from the piece. In keeping their hold on their pawn, Robin was showing their thought process more than displaying their confidence. They were sure that Soren was evaluating this entire motion, from their initial move to their hesitation, and then to their withdrawal as they moved the pawn back to its original location and picked up the bishop, moving it just in front of one of their knights.

If Soren had made any judgments for their hesitation, he didn't voice it. Perhaps that was a relief in its own right. "Pawn, D5," he droned.

"Are you going to do that every time?" Robin asked, an edge to their voice. Their next move was made in confidence, bringing out their queen early to set Soren on the defensive.

"Does it bother you?"

Robin didn't want to admit it did. "I don't see the point in it, I can see what move you're making."

"Obviously. Pawn, C4. Pawn takes pawn." Soren reached across the board to collect Robin's piece, setting it on the the table beside his other hand.

Robin wanted to continue their complaint, but their queen was now in a psuedo-sense of danger. It seemed Soren was more than effective at getting people to shut up. "Did you really want that pawn?" Robin inquired, moving their queen to take Soren's pawn.

"Pawn, C6," was Soren's only answer.

Pawn, pawn, pawn. Robin huffed. They'd heard so many stories about Soren. It was incredible to find the man himself so insufferable.

Robin went back to the move they had attempted before. This time, they commit to it.

"Knight, D7."

The game continued like that. Robin resigned themselves to silence. It was clear that Soren was not interested in any conversation, and most likely would remain that way unless Robin beat him, or maybe the game had ended. Soren declared every move he made audibly, voice clear and crisp, until it just became another fact alongside the pieces' clacking. Knight, B6. Bishop, G4. Knight, A4.

Robin made plenty of moves that they hesitated on. Their turns took longer than Soren's to decide, but they still didn't lose their confidence. If anything, the thought they put into each piece they moved filled them with more surety. Soren was being rash, they reasoned. He couldn't have been so skilled as to confidently make the perfect moves. The more time they took to plot their actions, the easier it would be to overturn Soren's strategy -- the script he had so obviously written turns ahead of time.

"Knight takes knight," Robin said, plucking Soren's piece from the board and putting theirs in its place. If this action surprised Soren, he made no indication. His next move certainly came quickly enough to, if anything, prove his confidence was founded.

"Knight, E4, knight takes pawn."

Robin's eyebrows raised slightly. Soren had targeted their knight and lost his to get to their pawn? That was such a careless --

His other knight was now threatening Robin's king. "Ah."

Soren maintained his wry smile. Robin went on another offensive attack. It was perhaps a childish maneuver. Certainly Robin wouldn't win any style points for targeting Soren's queen with their own, while simultaneously keeping it safe with a bishop they'd placed turns before.

Soren, seemingly keen to keep his queen, moved it.

"Queen, A5."

"Hmn." Robin moved a pawn forward, another attempt at Soren's queen.

"Queen, A4. Queen takes knight."

They released a breath they didn't know they'd been holding, and took the last of Soren's knights.

Rook, E8. Soren was going after Robin's queen. They defended it with their bishop. Bishop, E3. Soren took Robin's light-squared bishop. Robin took his with a pawn.

The game continued. Soren dictated each move aloud, and Robin grew increasingly sick of it. Thankfully, at some point, a distraction had entered during one of Soren's moves.

Piece still held in the air, another soldier from one of the other realms entered the tent with something of a confident flourish, which was lost once his eyes fell on both Soren and Robin. Soren completed his move.

"Prince Leo," Robin greeted. "Hello."

"... Hello."

The prince drew his body close to himself, arm crossed. Something about his body language made it clear he hadn't intended to find a tent with a chess game going on inside, but he didn't seem completely bothered.

"May I watch?"

"Go right ahead," Robin answered immediately, because they worried Soren would be just as quick to deny it. Perhaps an audience would change things in their favor? Soren was doing a thorough job of smashing them.

There wasn't a chair for him, so Leo simply stood by the table. His eyes were fixed on the chessboard, apparently trying to soak up as much information as possible before the board changed once more.

"You're just in time," Soren said, smile playing at his lips. "Queen to A7. Check."

Robin grumbled. "Yes, I can see that."

"Oh, don't chide me for pointing that out."

They wouldn't. That was usually a standard rule.

Undeniably, they had lost. Soren had nearly twice the pieces they did, though that wasn't saying much when they had but three pieces to their side. A bishop and a rook were not enough to win the game when Soren still had his queen and both rooks.

"I concede," Robin said. They toppled their own king with a flick of their index finger.

"Of course," Soren replied. He stood and started gathering all the pieces he'd collected over the duration of the game, placing them haphazardly on the board for Robin to collect and put away. "That was an... interesting bout. Perhaps you learned something?"

Robin just didn't like how _smug_ the mage was. They weren't about to let that slide. "Two out of three," they blurted.

"Hm," Soren hummed. "Alright."

He fell back into his designated chair, lazily helping Robin replace the board. "Shall I still play black?"

"Yes," Robin answered tersely. They realized now they'd need every advantage they could get, just as Soren said before.

Leo's presence was quickly forgotten in the ensuing game. Robin opened differently, moving one of their outer pawns forward. If Soren thought that was another interesting opener, he said nothing. Leo, similarly, was quiet. Robin was focused on the game. They carefully examined each move Soren made and spent much longer trying to piece together the best move for themselves.

Soren, once again, narrated his every action. Robin still wasn't sure why. At the start, it hadn't been more than just an annoying, unnecessary drone. Still here, it was only frustrating because Robin let it be frustrating. ...Perhaps that was it, then?

Knight, F6. Pawn, G6. Bishop, G7. King, G8, king side castle.

"Wait."

"Hm?" Soren's expression was unreadable.

Robin glared at him. "This is the way you started the last game."

Soren smiled. "It is. I'm impressed you remembered as much."

"Is this the only opening you know?" Robin retorted, preparing their next move.

"I'm sure it would be a great comfort were I to say yes," Soren said. "Pawn B3."

Apparently not, if Soren already had an unorthodox move waiting in the wings.

Leo made a sound beside them, as if he found it amusing. Wonderful, Robin mused. They'd love to become a laughing stock among _two_ other tacticians.

Unfortunately for Robin, this game only took longer than the last one from their own caution. Soren's moves were issued rapid-fire. It seemed he was constantly on top of Robin's own tactics, even though the only words between them were Soren's incessant narration.

"Checkmate," came as a surprise to Robin. They hadn't seen it, but once it was pointed out, they couldn't deny it.

Reluctantly, they knocked over their king once more.

A gentle, one-man clap sounded. That was when Robin remembered Leo was still in attendance. "That was an entertaining match," the prince spoke. He carried his own smile, and Robin decided in that moment they hated it.

"Thank you," Soren replied humbly. Once again, he started collecting all the pieces he'd taken and offering them back to Robin. "Three out of five?"

His question was obviously in jest. Robin declined with a frustrated grunt.

"May I?" Leo interjected. Soren glanced to Robin. He didn't seem completely opposed to it, but what would Robin know? They obviously couldn't read him like he could read them.

Robin considered it, then pushed themselves away from the table and stood. Perhaps watching Leo lose would restore their own morale. "Go ahead," they said. "If Soren's still interested."

"Mm," Soren said. "You are a prince, are you not? It will be interesting to see if your education shines through."

"Is that a taunt?" Leo accused. He seemed amused, though. Robin was worried they'd be more suited for each other. Would Leo be more of Soren's equal than Robin had been? Naga above, to watch it happen on their own set would be painful, if it happened. Suddenly, they were rooting for Soren.

"Do you prefer black?" Leo asked. He'd already begun taking up all the black pieces for himself.

"I have no preference. Take whichever you're more comfortable with."

Robin, beside the table, huffed. Maybe they'd have done better had they swapped colors between matches.

"Black it is." With one hand, the blond brushed the white pieces to Soren's side and started carefully setting his side of the board. He was more precise in where he puts the pieces than Robin had been, either because he was just more persnickety in nature, or he's played many, many more games and knew the spacing better.

Soren's first move was much more conventional than he played with Robin. Perhaps it was because he was starting now. Robin wonders if he was more likely to play by the rules when he was on the advantageous side. "Pawn, E4."

"Pawn, E5," Leo said. Perhaps he started narrating too because of Soren, or perhaps he would have done that regardless. Robin couldn't tell, yet. Perhaps they were just both trying to unnerve each other.

"Pawn, F4."

...And there went Soren's conventionality.

"Pawn, F4," Leo repeats, bemused, plucking Soren's pawn off the board. He sets it down at the edge of the board, even though the table has plenty of empty space.

Robin finds themselves wondering why Soren would just give that up.

"Knight, F3."

"Pawn, G5."

"Bishop, C4."

"Pawn, G4."

Their moves were instantaneous, one after another. Leo was gunning for Soren's knight already, and Soren...

"King side castle."

"Pawn, F3. Pawn takes knight." Soren let him have it.

"Queen, F3."

Robin raised their eyebrows, as did Leo. On Leo's side of the board... He had nothing ready. Any piece he wanted to move had to move from its origin, aside from the singular pawn Soren currently had pinned against his Queen. Leo was unhappy, clearly, from the way he folded his arms. After a moment of considering the board, he toppled his king, knocking over the pawn in front of it.

"King's Gambit," he said bitterly. "That was foolish of me."

"Muzio, actually," Soren corrected. Already the mage was collecting the pieces he'd just used. "Another round?"

"Naturally," Leo replied. "I'll not leave a loss so embarrassing."

"Naturally," Soren echoed. "Would you like to change sides?"

Leo took a moment to think. Considering he'd only seen Soren play black before his own match, and considering the complete dominance Soren showed he was capable of, it seemed in his best interest to comply.

"Yes," he answered. It almost sounded like a command.

"Very well..."

The two exchanged pieces silently. Robin watched, of course, and silently thanked themselves for not being so stupid as to allow Soren to play white against them. If that's what he'd done to Leo, they can only imagine what he'd have done to them -- some one who, admittedly, didn't even know what Leo meant by "King's Gambit."

Once they'd set up the board again, Leo took his time choosing his first move. He took it, Pawn to E4, but didn't bother voicing it. Perhaps he felt as if Soren's narration had been a trap, and was determined not to fall into it again.

Soren, however, continued. Perhaps it really was a habit of his to just narrate. Robin couldn't tell. Even when Leo had cornered the mage into a position where, for the first time, Soren took a moment to consider his moves, he still announced each the moment he removed his fingertips from the piece in question.

It came down to an incredibly naked board, with very, very few pieces still in play. Soren's victory was only assured when he managed to carry a pawn to the other side of the board, wherein Leo was obligated to return his queen.

It took two moves more from there for Leo to topple his King, once again, before Soren had the chance to name checkmate.

Robin was stunned. Leo had put up a better fight than they had, by far, and Soren had even seemed to sweat at one point. ...Maybe. They wanted to hope so.

"Good game," Soren said.

"Indeed," Leo replied. He plucked the few pieces that remained on the board away, and flipped it open. From there, the two began to refill the box with all the pieces. "I'd like a rematch one day, but I'd like some time to prepare."

"Of course," Soren responded. "Take all the time you need. I doubt Ike or I shall be returning home any time soon."

Leo hummed. He was the one to close the box once all the pieces had been put away. Then, he stood, extending one hand across the table to Soren.

The wind mage hesitated, but took it and gave it a rather weak shake.

"Soren, wasn't it?"

Soren doubted Leo cared about his name before. "Yes. And you're Prince Leo."

"That I am. I look forward to our next match."

Soren paused, glancing away for but a moment. "Me too."

With that, Soren's hand stuck to the top of the box, pulling it off the table and tucking it under his arm before exiting the tent. There was a brief moment, Leo and Robin standing there, where the two said nothing.

"He's vicious," Robin spat.

Leo chuckled. "He's... surprising, but not insurmountable."

"I want to beat him. _Bad_."

"...I agree. Maybe we should practice together?"

"That sounds good," Robin replied. "I... Admittedly don't know much about chess, but my first match with him went pretty well, I think. If we pool our strategies... We can definitely take him down."

"Great." Leo smirked. "So... Do you have your own set?"

Robin stared at Leo blankly, lips slightly parted.

"....That _was_ my chess set."


End file.
